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Queen gets royal treatment at RIM

06-Jul-2010 | SHARE:

Canada is a rich country due to shared values enshrined in the hearts of ordinary Canadians, the Queen said Monday, giving her final speech in the nine-day whirlwind royal tour.

Earlier in the day, the Queen, a rumoured BlackBerry addict, spent the last full day of the 22nd royal tour in Canada catching a glimpse of how the hand-held devices are produced at Research In Motion Ltd. in Waterloo.

Her Majesty, dressed in a pale yellow silk dress with mulberry-coloured flowers and a yellow coat, kept her hat and gloves on as she donned a white smock to guard against electrostatic charge while she was shown how a BlackBerry is made from beginning to end.

David Yach, the company's chief technology officer of software, said the Royal Family were "big users, big fans" of the popular smart phone.

"Prince Andrew is ... the techno person in the Royal Family (but) they are all, as I hear, addicted to BlackBerrys," he said.

The Queen was accompanied on the 30-minute tour by RIM co-founder Mike Lazaridis and Premier Dalton McGuinty. At the end of it, she was given a personalized white BlackBerry with a wallpaper photo of children from Queen Elizabeth Public School in Kitchener, holding up bouquets of flowers.

"Commitment to freedom, fairness, and the rule of law are commonly and rightly associated with this nation," said the 84-year-old monarch at an official dinner in her honour at the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto.

"These are just some of the attributes that animate Canadians at home and abroad, not least in the service of peace. So although my visit here is drawing to a close, I shall continue to take the greatest pride in being your Queen, now and in the years to come."

Wearing a tiara and dressed in a white silk gown adorned with pearls and sequins making the shape of a Maple Leaf, the Queen touched on Canada's continued commitment to the United Nations, as shown in the country's mission in Afghanistan.

The Queen also visited Pinewood Studios in Toronto, North America's newest and largest movie and production facility, where she was shown a scene from a new proposed 3-D television series called 1812. The Queen put on special 3-D glasses monogrammed with a Q to watch the scene, which was directed by acclaimed Canadian director Deepa Mehta.

Prior to touring the multimillion-dollar facility, the Queen attended a luncheon with many notable Canadians from the arts community including broadcaster Rick Mercer, singer Jully Black, actress Lisa Ray and members of the indie band Metric.

Credit: Linda Nguyen; Canwest News Service

Illustration

Colour Photo: John Stillwell, Getty Images / The Queen, is shown a new product being tested before packaging at a Research in Motion facility in Waterloo. She was given a personalized white BlackBerry with a wallpaper photo of children from Kitchener's Queen Elizabeth Public School.; Caption: